Confido, etiam in Mortem
by BigMammaLlama5
Summary: Sometimes our darkest demons consume us. Sometimes they make us make mistakes that can never be undone. Please read the author's note before reading. Lara/Sam, set in CR Universe, RATED MA. Very touchy subject.


**This author's note NEEDS to be read. Please do so.**

**So this next one-shot takes place on the **_**U.S.S. Dauntless on their way BACK to Yamatai.**_** The title is some horribly cobbled together Latin that I hope says something along the lines of "Trust, even in Death", but yeah. It was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to write. (Part of that reason is because I was personally affected by the 9/11 attack and part of that old anxiety and grief bled into this… Sorry 'bout that.)**

**Disclaimer, PLEASE pay attention to the reasons for rating. PLEASE.**

**Rated M for sex, violence, RAPE, reference to rape, strong language, and reference to possible disturbing information.**

**A very VERY special thank you to my beta, Katie, for helping me through this one. Next chapter in 60 Minutes will be delayed a few days because I had to get this out of my head. But don't worry, it'll only be a day or so and then we'll resume normal bi-monthly updates.**

**THIS IS YOUR WARNING. There are some touchy subjects in this oneshot. Be responsible and don't read this if you aren't into lesbian lady smut or if any of the above listed in the rating upsets or bothers you. I do not want to get into an argument over ethics or politics. I won't answer those messages, but I will gladly civilly discuss this story with anyone who leaves a logged-in review or PM.**

**This is fanfiction. While some of my writing may reflect some of my personal views, they are not up for debate. And again, please be respectful about it to me and your fellow readers, that's all I ask. I just picked this topic because I hadn't seen it written about here yet. Rape is a life-changing event. To not acknowledge that it was SUGGESTED that this virtual character was in danger of that isn't something I would skip over lightly. So bear with me, this will be heavy-handed.**

Ignosces- basic Google Latin translation of "forgive me". If this is incorrect, please inform me. I took German years ago so I have no idea what I'm doing with Latin…

Confido, etiam in Mortem

Lara stormed down the tight metal steps that led all the way down to the enormous cargo hold, the red finger prints on her left cheek stinging painfully. She needed to get away from Samantha _quickly_ before she said or did something _else_ she would truly regret. Sometimes that woman was just so _fucking_ infuriating… Couldn't she see that she was just _worried_ about her? Couldn't she see that she cared so deeply for her that all that mattered was keeping her safe? If she was so stubborn and mule-headed to come _back_ to this island with her, the least she could do is run away when she told her to! Not this_ "I'm never going to leave your side no matter what"_ shit. That won't work. Not with the Solarii. What they almost did to Lara… She couldn't bear to have that happen to Samantha.

The loud clang of her boots hitting the metal steps echoed and echoed the further down in the ship she went. There were things to climb and hit in the cargo bay that were away from prying eyes. Sure, there were a mat and a few good punching bags in the small gym up a few decks, but this was something she needed to work out on her own. The fear of going too far and seriously injuring one of her crewmates gnawed at her conscious. But the main reason for sequestering herself away was that if Sam did come look for her, since she probably would, Lara knew that she could quickly get away if she needed to. Samantha was almost a better climber than her now, the only exception being that she didn't take needless risky jumps like Lara did. Rage bubbled dangerously in her belly as she continued to replay their fairly heated argument in their cabin over and over in her head.

* * *

"_Lara! Just because you tell me to run away doesn't mean that I will!"_

"_These men and that island are DANGEROUS. Sam, I can't have you getting hurt! I shouldn't have even let you come back with me in the first place!" Lara exclaimed heatedly as she spun from her agitated pacing._

"_Damn it! I'm not a fucking PRINCESS! I can take care of myself!"_

"_I DON'T CARE. Samantha, why can't you listen to me?!"_

"_Don't you DARE call me that!" Sam jabbed her finger at Lara aggressively, her amber eyes narrowing dangerously._

"_Why not? I've known you long enough. We're TOGETHER. We're FUCKING."_

_ A sharp slap rung out through the small metal cabin and Lara stood frozen in disbelief and anger, her cheek stinging where Sam struck her. Her eyes grew wide as she gingerly touched her face. Samantha stood shocked, trying to register that she had actually hit Lara. The young British woman looked back to her partner, realizing her quickly rising anger was reaching a dangerous point._

"_I didn't mean that last bit like it sounded, and I'm leaving before I say anything else." She bit out roughly before turning on her heel and leaving Samantha behind with a loud slam of the door._

* * *

"Yeah sure you can take care of yourself, after I rescued your ass twice." Lara snarled nastily to herself heatedly as she slammed the heavy metal door open to the cargo hold.

Lara screamed as loudly as she could as soon as the door slammed shut behind her, the force ripping at her throat. Her anger boiled over quickly, burning through her chest and falling heavily into the pit of her stomach. Her pulse pounded heavily in her ears and she could feel her face contorting into a twisted grimace, her teeth bared as she lashed out at the nearest wrapped bundle of canvas-wrapped wooden crates. Her booted foot _thunked_ into the side of the crate with another loud cry of anger before a hail of staccato punches hammered loudly into it. Lara attacked that crate, then the next crate, and then the next crate. She let her anger consume her, driving herself into a bloodthirsty frenzy that she thought she had gotten under control. It just felt _so good_ to finally let it out.

The long suppressed muddled mess of grief, helplessness, self-loathing, and shame flooded through her body brutally. Her vision turned red and spotted on the edge, her throat quickly raw and tasting of hot metallic blood from her releasing her pent up anger. An incoherent rant spewed from her lips that were twisted in a demonic snarl as she threw an empty five-gallon plastic bucket deep into the hold. Her abused knuckles bled freely and throbbed with the rapid rhythm of her heart, and when they began to ache fiercely, she began to resort to her feet. In her whirled frenzy of distemper, she neglected to hear the door to the cargo hold open. She failed to hear the sound of three pairs of footsteps approaching her through the maze of crates she had worked herself into. And she failed to hear the first few calls of her name.

"_LARA!_"

Jonah's booming voice penetrated the red haze that clouded her senses, and she whiled and snarled viciously,

"_WHAT._"

Jonah stepped back and slightly in front of a still-pissed Samantha in apprehension, he had never seen Lara this upset before. The stoic figure of Benjamin took a slow step forward into Lara's line of vision. The worked up woman grabbed at her hair at her temples and began to pace in a tight pattern.

"Listen here lil lady, your girl wants ta talk ta you. Alone, agains' her better judgment. If I find that you've hurt her, we're gonna have some words. You understand?"

"Yeah. Yeah okay." She grumbled, scowling deeply.

"We're gon' make sure no body comes down here. Ya'll need to work this out. Now." He finished, crossing his tree trunk arms over his combat vest.

The men hung back all of a second but left quickly when Sam stormed over to the on-edge archaeologist. They had just gotten out the door when Samantha took both of her hands and pushed her _hard_ into one of the crates. They didn't even hear them leave. The only thing that they registered was the infuriated form of the other.

"_What the FUCK, Lara?!_ Why are you being such a fucking dumbass?!" She screamed.

"ME. _ME?!_ I think I should be asking YOU that! Why the hell won't you listen to me?" Lara slammed her palms on the canvas-covered crate behind her with a loud bang and pushed herself toward a dangerously fuming Sam.

"_ABOUT WHAT?! _Are we _still_ talking about that stupid _"I don't want you to get hurt"_ shit?!" the smaller woman crossed her arms across her white-tee covered chest and circled Lara, her amber eyes glaring blisteringly at her partner. They spiraled deeper into the dim cargo hold.

"_Yes we're still talking about that_! All-"

"NO, Lara! I told you once and I will tell you again, I can take care of myself! I'll be fine!"

"Sam you _know_ that I was nearly _raped on that island._ I can't tell you how many times I almost died! I think I have a very good reason to be upset about this! How-"

"You've _taught_ me how to be careful! We're with fucking _military guys_!" She threw her arms out to the sides. "You're being an over protective _BITCH!_"

"OH so _now_ I'm an overprotective bitch! What, are you going to call me a controlling tart next?!" She took an aggressive step into Samantha's face.

"Fuck, Lara! What the hell?! You sure are acting like one right now!"

"Oh come off it, you're acting like a _fucking tosser_ and it's reaaaally starting to drag my nerves out when I have to keep fuckin' _saving your arse!"_ She screamed hoarsely.

"_Don't make me hit you again, because I will!"_ Sam snarled dangerously, roughly pushing Lara into a crate again.

"I wouldn't _do_ that a third time…" She growled dangerously, her hazel eyes dark and flashing. White-hot flames licked at the insides of her stomach and her hearing began to go fuzzy again.

"_Or what._ Are you gonna lock me up in our room? Oh _I know_, you're going to show me how much fucking _stronger_ you are than me. _That would be the next butch thing for you to do._"

"_BUTCH?! Fine. FINE._ You want me to go overboard?! _I'll go fucking overboard!_" She bellowed, shoving herself away from the crate.

"_HEY-WHAT ARE YOU- LARA!"_

Lara swooped down on Samantha and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist, hoisting her up and over her compact shoulder. Sam squirmed and tried to get away by trying to kick at Lara's legs. The enraged British woman snared the swinging limbs and immobilized the other woman's legs, fresh bruises already beginning to sting just above her left knee from where Sam's boots had struck her a couple times. Her fingers dug viciously into the muscle of Sam's thighs and the struggling woman cried out in fury and pain. She didn't waste anytime in carrying her deeper into the center of the bay where it was darkest. Lara found a tall stack of extra canvas and kicked it over in a sheltered corner created by two tall metal shipping crates of supplies and a parked small backhoe tractor. Lara ignored the angry screams of her partner and threw her down painfully on the mess she had just created in the corner. The force of her fall causing the loose white tee to ride up high on Samantha's ribs, exposing her bare stomach to the cool air.

"_LARA WHAT THE FUCK?!"_ Sam screamed loudly, her voice muffled by their surroundings. The familiar pull of fear that she had only felt on the island blossomed in her heaving chest. Lara was really starting to scare her.

"_You said the next step was to show that I'm stronger! If I can fucking overpower you then those men won't have any trouble! YOU'LL BE A FUCKING RAG DOLL TO THEM."_

Sam grimaced and sat up, only to be roughly forced back down by Lara's booted foot on her chest. She cried out in frustration as she struggled against Lara's weight, clawing at the long lean leg holding her down. She kicked her legs up and knocked her feet into Lara's supporting leg in an attempt to knock her off balance. Instead of collapsing like Sam had hoped, Lara removed her foot from her chest and pinned her. Strong tan fingers wrapped painfully around her slim wrists and wrenched her arms painfully above her head. She felt her left should pop and grimaced at the short twinge of discomfort. Before she could break Lara's grasp, both of her hands were immobilized above her head by one of Lara's hands.

"_LARA LET ME GO." _She screeched.

The dominant woman ignored the shrill woman beneath her and grasped Sam's flared hip with her right, her long fingers digging harshly into her flesh of her side. Powerful hips roughly pressed down into the bucking body and fought to keep her still. Sam yelled wordlessly, the scream tearing from her throat. Her hair stuck to her forehead as she began to sweat from exerting herself, her heels thumped dully against the metal decking. Her body burned in cold dread as all of her hard work in making herself stronger became dwarfed by Lara's brute animal force. A muscular thigh wedged itself in between Sam's legs and forced them apart.

"_Lar-"_

"_SHUT UP._ Do you think that just because you say _stop_ that they will?! FIGHT. SHOW ME. Show me that you can defend yourself!" She snarled into Sam's flushed face, her white teeth bared menacingly. Her vision was red and her tiny voice of reason was quickly drowned out by the oily and venomous evil that boiled in her belly.

And with that exclamation, all hell broke loose between the two of them. Bodies roiled like oil and water, one trying to throw the other off but neither giving up. Elbows and knees knocked together and into the floor, the canvas rustling around noisily underneath them. Strained grunts, yelled obscenities, shouts of _'SHOW ME!'_, and heavy breathing from their struggle fell dead in the nearly enclosed area. Lara lost herself to her darkest thoughts. The ghosted feeling of the Russian's heavy hand falling onto her hip made her hair prickle at the nape of her neck and trigger that once-dormant beast deep within her belly. She snarled when Sam's forehead cracked into her chin and cause her to bite her lip. _Hard._ When she tasted her coppery blood in her mouth, she roared in unbridled fury.

Powerful legs forced apart Samantha's thighs roughly without thinking about how it might hurt her. The hand that had been latched onto Sam's hip tore at the button and fly of the smaller woman's jeans, causing a new flurry of desperate movement and hoarse screaming. Straight white teeth sunk deeply into the soft flesh of the junction between Sam's neck and shoulder, eliciting a high keen of agony from the pinned woman.

She was afraid. Oh dear _fucking GOD_, Samantha was terrified. Who was this person? Where did her Lara go? How is this even _happening_…

Tangy metallic blood spilled across Lara's tongue and she sucked greedily at the wound. Her fingers finally popped the button to the jeans and jerked down the zipper. Sam struggled frantically and cried out again when Lara held her firmly in her mouth, her hands clenched into tight white-knuckled fists and straining to desperately pull free. Her eyes grew wide in horror when blunt nails scraped at the skin low on her abdomen, red lines followed the path of the nails that were clawing down her pants and underwear.

"_Lara please, please stop! LARA STO-"_ Her pleading morphed into an agonized wail as three fingers savagely forced their way into her.

Sam keened and squirmed her body in an attempt to get away from Lara, tears welling up in her eyes because of how helpless she felt in her torment. Her legs kicked and she tried to use her knees to pull the taller woman off of her. Burning pain radiated from the assaulting hand in her vagina, her entire body in tremors of shock. Lara released her hold on Sam's shoulder and laved at the still weeping bite mark. The invading hand moved relentlessly with the help of a driving body. Sam made the mistake of trying to buck her hips to jostle Lara off of her. The heel of the hand ground down into Samantha's clit, and her body began to betray her when a weak bolt of pleasure cut through the fire and shot to every nerve ending in her body. The familiar buzz of lust began to mix with the ache from her core, and she sobbed as the feeling grew. Her struggles grew weaker as her body recognized the familiar smell and touch of her lover, despite the unwelcome situation she was in. Lara didn't stop until a pitiful whimper of desire escaped from Sam's raw throat.

She froze.

Oh God.

Oh God, _no_.

_ What had she just DONE._

A quiet mantra of _no_ burbled from Lara and quickly grew in volume when reality hit her like a glacial bucket of water. Dread sunk deep into her chest and she withdrew her hand so quickly from Sam that the zipper tore into the skin on the back of her hand. The second she released the slim bruised wrists of her partner, a small tight fist lashed out and hit her square in her nose. Blood spurted almost comically through the air as she lurched back onto her knees. She stared wide-eyed at a hysterically crying Samantha, and flinched when she sat up and hit her again on the cheek, knuckles popping loudly against skin. Lara knelt there, bile rising in her throat. She didn't move as punches rained down on her everywhere or when her blood dribbled down her chin and onto her sweaty chest. She just kept staring at the pink-tinged fingers of her right hand. She couldn't tear her eyes away.

"_YOU FUCKING CUNT. HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME."_

_ Slap._

"_WHAT WERE YOU FUCKING THINKING."_

_ Slap._

"_WELL?!"_

_ Slap._

"_LARA!"_

Dead hazel eyes snapped in on Sam's flushed tear-streaked face and blinked. Samantha could see something break inside of Lara as the woman kneeling between her legs crumpled. The tanned and bloody face contorted in one of the guiltiest and most heart wrenching expressions that she had ever seen. Hot tears cut tracks down the sloped plane of her cheeks and she rasped out,

"_I'm sorry…_"

Sam hit her hard in the front of her right shoulder before grabbing the strap of her tank top and bra, her other hand reaching around and taking a fistful of Lara's messy ponytail. She wrenched the limp woman to her left and slammed her down hard onto the barely-padded floor. Power overflowed from the small frame and pushed her body from flight into fight. Adrenaline flooded her system and Sam could feel her muscles sing as she overpowered her limp partner. Lara's breath whooshed out of her, but she refused to fight back. In a sick sense, she was proud of Sam for fighting back… but it had taken too long. And she had gone too far.

Way too far.

Lara didn't know what had come over her, but now she knew that the darkness that had awoken on Yamatai was still very much present almost a year and a half later. She let Sam slam her down. Let her straddle her and pin her. Let her hit her. Let her slap her. Scream at her. Curse at her. She took the abuse. She just kept apologizing even though she knew that nothing could undo what she had just done. In her mind, she deserved it and more. What kind of person does that to someone they love? What kind of person even does that at _all_? Lara was jolted out of her spiraling thoughts when sharp teeth bit down on her collarbone and broke the skin. She yelped and brought her hands up to Sam's shoulders to push her away, but her lover just bit harder. Just like she had earlier. Hands groped crudely at her breasts, fingers digging in sharply to the supple flesh. Lean thighs clamped down on Lara's sides and her hands were ripped from their purchase on slim shoulders as the smaller woman learned up to hover over her.

"_Sam, I-"_

"_SHUT THE FUCK UP."_ She commanded thickly with teeth bared and pink, venom dripping from her voice as she glowered witheringly through wet eyelashes.

"_You HURT me. You just- you just RAPED me. I HATE YOU. I COULD JUST KILL YOU!"_ She screeched, hot fat tears still streaming from darkened amber eyes.

"_I SHOULD KILL YOU I SHOULD KILL YOU I SHOULD KILL YOU-KILL-KILL-KILLLAAAAAAAARG!"_

Lara was picked up and slammed into the floor once, twice, a third time before snarling pink lips crashed down painfully into her own. She struggled to breath as fingers wrapped around her throat and threatened to completely cut off her airflow. Something snapped inside her again at the terrifying feeling of slim digits on her skin trying to choke the breath from her. Lara broke the grip of one of the hands on her neck and grasped at the shorter hair on the back of Samantha's head. The sudden rush of oxygen gave her a heady feeling and she gasped for breath. Her thoughts whirled in confusion. Shouldn't Samantha hate her? Why… Why was she kissing her? And why was she kissing _back_? It felt as if someone else was controlling her. Lara pulled roughly at the ebony hair in her fist and grimaced when their teeth clashed together uncomfortably. They fought brutally, bruising their lips of the other's and trying to claim dominance with their tongues. The hand that Lara had pried off her neck grabbed the wrist of her right hand that was gripping at the digits around her throat.

"_You fuckin' started it,"_ Sam growled meanly into Lara's lips, her hand dragging Lara's still sticky fingers back down to her center. "_You fuckin' finish it._"

Lara started to protest but Sam bit the side of her mouth and roughly pushed the hand back into her disheveled undergarment. Dread nearly plunged Lara into panic until she felt how slick Sam was. Still nervous, she wetted her fingers and then withdrew them. It wasn't blood. Sam grabbed Lara's hand and shoved it back down to her center, pushing hesitant fingers back into her aching core. A growl rumbled through her chest and she dug her nails into Lara's wrist. A gasp ripped through Lara when the hand was removed from her neck and buried into her hair, pulling her head back to expose her neck. White teeth bit down to her chin and nipped none too gently at the soft skin of the underside of her jaw.

"_Sam-"_

"_Goddamnit Lara, FUCK ME."_ She yelled angrily right before she cried out into Lara's neck from the intrusion of three fingers again. Lara bit back a sob, wanting so badly to just _stop_ but knowing Sam wouldn't let her.

This time she worked at a gentler pace, afraid that she would hurt Samantha again. Bites became harsher and hair was pulled viciously from both women. Sam growled in frustration before sitting up on Lara's hand and pushing down forcefully. The young British woman grimaced at the painful angle of her wrist and tried to flip Samantha onto her back again, but she was unsuccessful. The young Japanese woman threw her body weight down into her hands and slammed Lara back down. She snarled a _'no'_ and Lara nodded weakly. She shifted around and braced her wrist with her thigh and swiftly and very firmly thrust up into Sam with help from her hips, a high keening moan ringing in her ears. Lara set a brutal pace, pushing into Sam harder than she ever had before. Slick muscle tightened around her fingers as a hand ripped at her hair and the other clawed at the back of her shoulder, drawing blood from raised welted lines.

"_I… fuckin'… hate you…"_ Sam gasped out into Lara's neck between thrusts before biting down again, but this time on her pulse point. Her nails scratched savagely at the tender skin on the back of Lara's shoulders, a vivid lattice rising up from the abuse. Her hands left their holds and tore at the form fitting tank top on Lara's stomach, stretching it up and over her breasts. The next thing Lara knew, fingers slid under the wire frame of her bra and shoved it up high towards her collarbone. Hot fingers branded into the supple mounds of flesh, her pebbled nipples pressing into the palms of Sam's hands. Lara moaned and tried to get her attention to kiss her, but she refused to look Lara in the eye and just used her.

Jean clad legs wrapped around Lara's hips and used that leverage to roll down wildly into the hand thrusting up into her center, their clothing askew. Sam could feel a knot of hot pleasure tightening painfully in her abdomen, and she sucked hard on Lara's pulse point. The thrusts became an overwhelming combination of pleasure and pain for her. Just as she was about to come, Lara's teeth sank into alabaster skin right next to the first irritated bite mark. Adrenaline spiked in Sam's body and she was thrown violently over the edge, a scream ripping from her throat as her body spasmed around Lara's fingers. Samantha's vision turned white and she lost her breath from the force of her orgasm, her mouth wide and gaping against Lara's scalding skin. She held on tightly, her fingers digging into Lara's sides and chest as her mind released itself momentarily from its anguish. The young British woman continued to almost forcefully push into a completely undone Sam until she felt her convulsions begin to die down. When she _did_ feel that, she pushed her fingers into Sam as far as she could and left them there, filling her up. Sam panted heavily for a moment before weakly sitting up and pushing at Lara. She complied by gently withdrawing her hand and laving at her most recently inflicted bite mark until Sam shrugged her off as she pushed up and away from Lara.

"_Off_…" She whimpered pitifully, feeling dirtier than she ever had in her life; tears welling back up from already tear-reddened eyes. "_Off. Get off…_"

"But Sam," Lara reached for her upset lover who was trying to lurch to her feet on wobbly legs, pleading in a quickly weakening voice. "Sam, _please_. _Please_-"

"_No! No, get off! Don't touch me!"_

A sob hiccupped out of Lara as she grabbed Samantha around the waist and shoulders and pulled the struggling woman down into a full-body embrace. Sam beat on Lara's chest while she floundered weakly, crying and cursing at her until she began to run out of energy. When she did, Sam kept her arms in between them as a buffer, her forehead pressed to the rough canvas beside Lara's head. They lay in silence, Sam refusing to speak to the woman who held her and Lara muttering apologies, her eyes staring blankly over her shoulder at the metal ceiling. When Sam thought Lara was in a lull she would attempt to break free, but all of her gradually weakening attempts would be foiled. So she lay there, feeling very low of herself with her trust in Lara badly shaken. Almost broken. Lara lost track of how long they lay there, but when a thought in Latin popped into her head, she _had_ to tell Sam.

"_Confido, etiam in mortem…_" She murmured in a raspy voice. "Trust, even in death."

Sam was silent for just a moment before addressing Lara in an equally raspy and flat voice. "Lara. I trust you. I always have. When did your trust in me fail? What… what made you do that to me?"

Lara lay there with an unresponsive Samantha for a long moment. "I don't know. I didn't think I had…"

"Well, then you need to fucking find it again because I sure as hell am losing my trust in _you_."

"_I know…_ I know… I will. I promise."

They lay there in silence for a moment longer before Sam spoke a phrase that would haunt Lara for the rest of her life.

"Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it."

* * *

Over hour later, Jonah cautiously ventured back into the cargo hold from his post, and was relieved to see that the two young women were no longer fighting. The blood curdling yells he had heard earlier chilled him to the bone and he didn't want to think about what might have happened. Oh, he had a very _strong_ idea about what had gone on between them and he _knew_ that he should talk to them about it…

Sam sat on an upturned bucket while Lara finished repairing the damages she had made in her rampage. Both had cleaned and bandaged their wounds with an extra medical kit that was specifically for the bay. He could tell that they had both been crying profusely but was thrown off by the gauze taped to their necks and Lara's back. His thoughts were confirmed when he noticed how stretched out Lara's shirt was.

"Oh _good_," He muttered darkly to himself, and then plastered on a gentle before he called to them, "Hey you two, dinner is about ready."

Lara paused in restacking the last of the buckets she had kicked over, clearing her gravelly voice. "We might not be joining you tonight Jonah…"

"Aww, guys… Are you sure? Sam?" The addressed woman only shook her head mechanically.

"I… alright then. There will be leftovers for you both in the kitchen if you decide to be hungry later." He grinned mildly, sensing that something was horribly wrong between the two. He felt that leaving as soon as possible was his best bet. Call him a coward, but this was something that they didn't need him to get into. At least not yet…

Lara shot him a weak smile as he left and then retrieved a bucket of her own and setting it down just to Sam's left. They sat in silence for a long while before Lara whispered weakly to her partner.

"Sam, something is wrong with me."

No answer. She turned away and stared at the floor, her shoulders in a defeated slump.

"I don't know how long it will take, but I will get better."

Samantha didn't answer. She didn't even look at Lara. But she did stay seated, and Lara took that as a very good sign that she hadn't completely screwed everything over. But the hours passed and Sam still didn't speak a word to her. They remained in the chill cargo bay in silence for the rest of the long night, the ghosts of their screams echoing around them. As the sun was rising, Samantha turned to her lover and looked at her straight in the eye.

"Lara. I will try to get past this. But you have to as well."

Lara nodded weakly, "I promise. Sam, I know what I did can't be undone, but-"

"_Stop._ I don't want to hear it. I'm going to shower and then I'm going to bed. I don't want to be anywhere near you for the next forty-eight hours. At least. Do you understand?" She rasped dully, her eyes still full of cold anger.

Lara could only nod and feel her heart break as she watched Sam tiredly walk away and whispered to her retreating back,

"_Ignosces… Please… Please forgive me…"_


End file.
